


Mixed Up (Or Not)

by loveandallthat



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Developing Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 09:50:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11552652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandallthat/pseuds/loveandallthat
Summary: Nursey held out the flyer instead. “Does anyone want to go to this bi-plus mixer on Friday?” he asked, going for casual."I'll go with you,” Dex said suddenly, and Nursey turned to look at him.For NurseyDex Week day 4: Gender/Sexuality Headcanons. AKA Everyone is bisexual and nothing hurts.





	Mixed Up (Or Not)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on my phone at work. Sorry, customers of my company! I swear I'm also getting my work done. But that said, this is not beta read AND it's written on a phone, so definitely feel free to point out any mistakes.
> 
> I'm all about that b...isexuality, though.

The Haus was more crowded than it usually was on a Tuesday afternoon. Bitty was in his room, claiming he had studying to do. But everyone else who lived there had nobody to privately Skype, and it had been sort of universally accepted that it was a good day for lounging. Some of the sophomores had even come by, though the new frogs were still hesitant to show up without a reason.

Nursey was in the kitchen with Chowder, both of them pretending to work while mostly just watching YouTube videos.

“Hey, can I borrow a pen?” someone from other room asked.

Instead of saying, how does nobody have a pen, Nursey just sighed and started digging through his bag. There were at least 20 floating around in there somewhere, he knew it. Eventually he pulled one out, but also came up with a flyer he'd grabbed while he was on the quad the other day. He brought it and the pen into the other room, losing the pen to a grabby hand.

Chowder had followed him, presumably just to keep hanging out. Most people were playing or watching whatever game was on the screen, but Whiskey and Tango were gathered around a piece of paper doing… Nursey didn't actually want to know what.

Nursey held out the flyer instead. “Does anyone want to go to this bi-plus mixer on Friday?” he asked, going for casual.

“Oh, I heard about that!” Chowder said. “I would totally go, but I'm Caitlin’s date to her volleyball formal that night.”

Volleyball formal? No, never mind, Nursey wasn't dwelling on that, instead focusing on the loss of his most likely option.

“Tango and I have a study group, but we were going to swing by after,” Whiskey said, not looking up from what he's writing. “Maybe we'll see you there?”

That was an interesting new piece of information--not that it changed Nursey’s opinion of them. He was hit by a sense of camaraderie, though, just a general knowledge that he had more in common with people than he thought. The mixer was pretty specifically bi-plus only, a controversial decision by the student club. Nursey had actually been there for the inclusiveness and allies versus safe space debate. (The end result was two parties, but this one was first. Nursey still suspects someone manipulated the whole thing just for extra events.)

But if Whiskey and Tango had heard about the event on their own, they probably knew that, and were probably bi. Or something.

“Chill,” Nursey answered, starting to leave.

“I'll go with you,” Dex said suddenly, and Nursey turned to look at him.

No assumptions, Nursey reminded himself, as much as he was fighting with the voice in his head telling him to follow the rules of the event.

“You're bi??” Tango asked, apparently without the same resolve.

“Yeah,” Dex said, like it was no big deal.

“Cool,” Whiskey said, like he also didn't think it was a big deal.

The thing was, recently Nursey had been having some interesting feelings. Living with Dex and seeing all sides of him had made Nursey develop a small crush. Not an “I'm in denial of my huge crush so I'm understating it for comedic effect” crush, but an actual small one.

He was still much more invested in their friendship and on-ice partnership, still too afraid of ruining those to suddenly risk confessing interest to a straight guy.

It he’d known… well, honestly he probably wouldn't have done anything differently, maybe dropped a few hints to see if anything stuck. And maybe he wouldn't be trying to meet more bi people at mixers, though he might have gone anyway to support the club.

“You seriously want to go?” he asked Dex.

“Sure. Why, don't you want to go with me?”

“No--it'll be fun. Just be ready around 8?” Nursey suggested, still caught a little off guard.

“Sounds great.”

\---

“You know,” Nursey started, on the way to the event, “I thought you might change your mind. I'm glad you didn't, though.”

“Why?”

“Well you're not exactly Mr. Bisexual Pride,” Nursey pointed out.

Dex saw right through to what he was actually asking.

“I'm not closeted,” Dex explained. “I just usually don't like parties specifically organized to meet people. I like it to be more natural.”

Nursey laughed. “You're a romantic; that's adorable. What changed your mind?”

Dex was rolling his eyes at the “romantic” comment, but he answered, “You guys were just talking about it like it was so normal and I thought I may as well try it before I write it off completely. Even if I talk to people and never see them again. What's the risk?”

What's the risk indeed, Nursey thought, imagining Dex meeting someone else and never having a chance to see if there could be something between them. Maybe this was a terrible idea.

“Now that you mention it, though, this event isn't very supportive of closeted people,” Nursey said, thinking aloud.

Dex nodded. “Though, I get the utopian desire, knowing everyone in there understands something about you. And could be into you. In theory. Well, me in theory and you in practice.” He looked away and started walking faster.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Just that I'm historically bad at first impressions,” Dex said casually, but Nursey wasn't ready to let that slide.

“That sounds like a story,” he said.

“Oh no, you haven't unlocked that one,” Dex joked.

“You wound me; I thought our friendship level was high. What? I'm not  _that_ bad at memes. Or video games.” Nursey crossed his arms and pouted.

Dex rolled his eyes.

Nursey threw an arm around him. “Don't be grumpy. I'm not really looking tonight anyway. I can wingman for you, even.”

Dex huffed and shook the arm off. “Why are we going if you're not looking?”

“To support the club, of course. But like I said, it's not like you can't look just because I'm thinking about someone.”

At this, Dex’s eyes widened and he literally stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “You already like someone. Please don't tell me they're going to be there tonight, and you're going just to see one specific person.”

“I was planning on going before he said he'd go, if you must know. Besides, I still won't know if he did until I get there.” Out of habit, Nursey still looked sideways to see if Dex responded to the pronoun, but there was nothing.

“What are you smirking at?” Dex asked instead.

Oh, shit. Nursey schooled his expression into something more neutral. He hadn't even realized his amusement at his own joke was showing on his face.

“Nothing. Let's definitely talk about you and your type, so I can be as helpful as possible.”

“I'm not really looking either,” Dex said. “I was just going to see what happened. Besides, I'm realizing I don't have a type.”

“OK we are going to need to stop saying vague things and skipping right over them,” Nursey insists.

“You're doing that too!”

“I did say we,” Nursey reminded him.

Dex took a deep breath, exhaled loudly and obviously. “Tell me about the guy  _you_ like.”

Nursey couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you know enough about him already.”

“So it’s someone I know who’s going to be there?” Dex frowned. “It’s not Whiskey or Tango, is it?” He stopped walking, suddenly, stepped off the sidewalk and leaned against a tree. Nursey followed him, since Dex was staring at him anyway.

“There’s no way,” Dex breathed. “‘You won’t know until you get there if he’s going,’ you said...”

He had definitely figured it out, Nursey realized. He felt weirdly OK about it. His heart had started to beat much faster, but he wasn’t at risk of severe emotional distress.

“Me?” Dex asked, and Nursey nodded, no interest in lying. “If you liked me why would you go with me and offer to wingman?”

“Well we're still friends,” Nursey said, looking down.

“Shit,” Dex said. “You couldn’t have waited?”

“For… what? The party to be over, so it wouldn’t be awkward?”

Dex was shaking his head, but he waited for Nursey to finish. “For me to decide how I feel about you.”

“Oh.” Shit, indeed. “Which way are you leaning?”

As it happened, he was leaning against the tree, enough to make it so that he had to look up at Nursey instead of directly at his height, like he usually would.

“I like you,” he said quietly. “If you were anybody else, I would have asked you out already. But in reality, we still don’t know each other  _that_ well, especially when it comes to… this. And we could screw everything up.”

“Yeah,” Nursey agreed. “That’s kind of what I was thinking.” Except he couldn’t stop his feet from moving forward, from bracketing Dex’s. He leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart, and Dex just looked back challengingly. So Nursey leaned in and kissed him, softly, and only for a moment. He pulled back.

“Do you think we can go back from that?” Dex asked.

“Probably,” Nursey answered, though he was already craving more.

“You’re right,” Dex said. Then he pulled Nursey back in by the front of his shirt, and kissed him much more deeply. Someone walking past wolf-whistled--badly, but the intent was clear.

They pulled apart. “Maybe not now,” Nursey admitted, breathing heavily.

Dex smirked, then sobered slightly. “What now? We just hope everything turns out OK? We make a contingency plan in case it doesn’t?”

“We already know we could really hurt each other, if we… explore this, it’ll be even easier. I don’t think there’s a contingency plan on Earth that could save us.” Nursey paused, looked Dex over. “But I have a good feeling.”

“Oh yeah?” Dex ran his hand over Nursey’s arm. “Me too.”

“Haha, you’re hilarious. Do you still want to go to the mixer?”

“Nah,” Dex said. “I’m sure we can find something else to do. Besides, I’m not really looking to meet anyone.”

“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just really like exploring the idea of only liking people a little bit at the start of a relationship, and having it develop.
> 
> The title is an obvious joke about bisexuals not being confused and also that they don’t go to the mixer.
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely comments on [my day 1 fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11523792), [my day 2 fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11534277), and [my day 3 fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11543352).
> 
> Please comment anything! Especially criticism. Even if it's not constructive. But also any thoughts are accepted, tangential ones included.
> 
> Find me on tumblr as [loveandallthat](http://loveandallthat.tumblr.com/)! I take prompts for tons of fandoms and pairings.


End file.
